Cathedral of Toledo
Our first stop was Santa Iglesia Catedral Pimada. They charge 7 euros for admission and we were not allowed to take any pictures inside the church. Inside the church it was maybe 3 degrees celsius, making colder inside, so we were all freezing. Anyways, construction on this massive cathedral began in the early 13th century 
and was finished more than 250 years later. This gothic style cathedral was extremely grand, a little too grand for my liking. In one area there were crowns with jewels, a monstrance made of intricate gold working along with diamonds and rubys, vestments with gold and diamonds, etc. There were several beautiful works of arts, including murals, sculptures, and patings by the famous El Greco. The highlight of the visit was my friend Kara and I stumbled upon a hall way where the archives were stored. A woman with a white coat and white gloves took a box out of the cubbord. We watched as this woman and another man, probably a scholar, took out letters from 1326 and began to read them. We looked over their shoulders and tried to read the contents, which was in Spanish, but it was difficult because it was in small scrpit. It was awesome.
Shopping
After the church we went browsing through some of the many shops that they have in Toledo. The city still has a medieval ambiance and many of the stores reflect it. Toledo is known for an ancient work of art, damascene, in which noble metals, gold and silver, are encrusted into baser metals, iron and steel. It is extremely laborious, thus most of it is now made by machine because it is more porfitable. However, there was one shop in which a man by the name of Luis still makes all of it by hand (he is like one of two in all of Toledo). His work was beautiful. More importantly I ended up buying a traditional Toledo sword that stands at about 3 feet tall and weighs about 10 pounds. I had an adventure when I got back to Madrid. I went to get on the metro and security told me that I could not bring it with me, even though it was in plastic it needed to be in paper. So the metro station manager helped me to wrap it in newspaper and then I wraped my jacket around it and tried to look as least suspicious as possible on my way home.
Museo Serfardi
Our last stop before leaving Toledo was a Synagogue that was ceased during the expulsion of Jews from Spain and turned into a Christian temple in the late 15th century. During the Napolenic Wars it was used as a military barack. It was later restored and turned into a museum. It focuses on the history of the Jews in Spain. I found it to be interesting.
and was finished more than 250 years later. This gothic style cathedral was extremely grand, a little too grand for my liking. In one area there were crowns with jewels, a monstrance made of intricate gold working along with diamonds and rubys, vestments with gold and diamonds, etc. There were several beautiful works of arts, including murals, sculptures, and patings by the famous El Greco. The highlight of the visit was my friend Kara and I stumbled upon a hall way where the archives were stored. A woman with a white coat and white gloves took a box out of the cubbord. We watched as this woman and another man, probably a scholar, took out letters from 1326 and began to read them. We looked over their shoulders and tried to read the contents, which was in Spanish, but it was difficult because it was in small scrpit. It was awesome.Shopping
After the church we went browsing through some of the many shops that they have in Toledo. The city still has a medieval ambiance and many of the stores reflect it. Toledo is known for an ancient work of art, damascene, in which noble metals, gold and silver, are encrusted into baser metals, iron and steel. It is extremely laborious, thus most of it is now made by machine because it is more porfitable. However, there was one shop in which a man by the name of Luis still makes all of it by hand (he is like one of two in all of Toledo). His work was beautiful. More importantly I ended up buying a traditional Toledo sword that stands at about 3 feet tall and weighs about 10 pounds. I had an adventure when I got back to Madrid. I went to get on the metro and security told me that I could not bring it with me, even though it was in plastic it needed to be in paper. So the metro station manager helped me to wrap it in newspaper and then I wraped my jacket around it and tried to look as least suspicious as possible on my way home.
Museo Serfardi
Our last stop before leaving Toledo was a Synagogue that was ceased during the expulsion of Jews from Spain and turned into a Christian temple in the late 15th century. During the Napolenic Wars it was used as a military barack. It was later restored and turned into a museum. It focuses on the history of the Jews in Spain. I found it to be interesting.
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